Christie: How 'Bout Them Cowboys

NJ gov raising eyebrows with NFL team allegiance

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Don't be surprised to see New Jersey's first football fan rooting for Eli Manning to get sacked when the New York Giants face the Dallas Cowboys.

Not only will Gov. Chris Christie be in Dallas to watch the season opener for both teams on Sunday, he'll be doing it from the home team's side.

"I'm a Cowboys fan," Christie said in an interview on the NFL Network on Friday morning as reported by The Record of Woodland Park. "I'm proud of it. You've got to be true to the team you've been rooting for your whole life."

A longtime Cowboys fan even though he grew up in New Jersey, Christie and his wife and son will be the guests of former Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach. The Record reports Staubach has contributed to Christie's re-election campaign.

Christie has joked before that his rooting interest probably offends most of New Jersey, a state that divides its loyalties between the New York Giants, New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.

"They hate it,” Christie said at an event Wednesday. “Giant fans obviously are more hateful of my rooting interest, but you know I told them right from the beginning when I was running in 2009, you get asked those kinds of questions and I didn't try to hide it."

Christie, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, is scheduled to headline three fundraisers in Texas for the Republican National Committee on Monday. Organizers have said the events include a breakfast in Dallas, a luncheon in San Antonio and a reception in Houston.